I find it troubling that Sen. Murphy calls the four years spent in college an "arbitrary" amount of time, saying, "There is no magic to the idea that it takes four years to get a quality degree. However, that is precisely the degree he got for himself at Williams College. Sen. Murphy is advocating for fast-track and online education programs. I submit that the old adage "fast, cheap, good: pick two" applies here. Tying federal aid to affordability, which is usually measured in overall cost to complete the degree, creates an incentive to colleges and universities to water down the rigor of their programs.

Many students arrive at college less well-prepared than Murphy was at highly selective Williams. Shall we offer students easy courses, pass them regardless of their performance, and just give them a credential that is of dubious worth?

Whose children will be getting that quick, affordable degree? Not Sen. Murphy's. What kind of jobs will they get with that credential? I believe we fool ourselves when we think there is a short cut to a quality degree.